Ornament Review: 1937 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Opens - Moments That Made Disney #4 - 2014 Disney Store Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Prince Charming and Snow White is their happy ending

Cons: None

The Bottom Line:

Snow White makes hist’ry

Commemorated with this

Christmas ornament

And It’s Happily Ever After for Snow White, Prince Charming, and Disney

While some of the ornaments in the Disney Store’s Moments that Made Disney series are more for the DisNerds, there are some moments that everyone can name without thinking about it.  That’s definitely the case with the fourth in the series, which commemorates  the year that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs opens.  It is such a huge moment not only in Disney history but film history it had to be included.

The ornament features Snow White and Prince Charming from the end of the movie.  The Prince is holding Snow White in his arms as he carries her away after waking her up from the spell she was under.  They are looking at each other and smiling.  The Prince is standing in grass that is sitting on the circular base of the ornament.  There are even purple flowers at his feet

I love this ornament for a couple of reasons.  First, the Disney Princes don’t get enough credit for their part in the happy endings.  It’s nice to see Prince Charming get included in this ornament.  I almost would have expected to see Snow White with the dwarfs since they are also in the title of the film.  The sculpt of these two characters is great.  But the way they are looking at each other is the second thing I love about it.  The look between them perfectly captures the look and love captured on the screen in the movie as they look into each other’s eyes.

Like the others in the series, this ornament has a nice flat base, so you can set it out and display year round.  But if you want to treat this as an ornament, you’ll find a red ribbon tied through the loop on the top of Prince Charming’s head.  That’s got to hurt.  But his sacrifice is worth it since the ornament hangs straight.

It’s hard to imagine a world without animated movies, and those of us who love the format owe a debt to Walt Disney and the huge risk he took for this movie.  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Opens is an ornament that every Disney fan will be proud to display on their tree.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Moments that Made Disney series.

Original Price: $19.99

Music Review: No Turning Back by Brandon Heath

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great tracks reflecting on life live then and now

Cons: Weak choruses on a couple of songs (but I do still love the songs)

The Bottom Line:

Fun musical style

Combine with some great lyrics

Make this a must buy

Reflections Back While Looking Forward

2015 marks a milestone for Brandon Heath.  It was 20 years ago, in 1995, that Brandon Heath gave his life to Jesus while attending a summer camp.  While No Turning Back is not all about that summer, it absolutely influences several of the songs on this disc.  The result is a great CD that his longtime fans will love.

The disc starts off strongly with “One Way to Heaven.”  Brandon’s folk/rock style is in fine form here as he sings:

Ain’t no doorway

Or a stairway

Ain’t no your way

Ain’t no my way

Ain’t no shortcut

Or a highway to Heaven.

I also love the title track.  Anyone who grew up in the church will absolutely recognize the theme of the lyrics to “No Turning Back.”  Yes, it borrows heavily from the Sunday School song “I Have Decided,” but the additions to it are strong and fun.  It’s a great song of commitment.  He’s joined by the group All Sons & Daughters, and the resulting song tips more toward his country side of things, but the beat is strong and it’s just plain fun.

Unfortunately, a couple of the songs tilt toward the Jesus is my girlfriend style of song writing.  You know the songs – talking about love and really the chorus feels like it could be any love song.  “Only Just Met You” is definitely one of them, but “When You Look at Me” suffers the same fate, especially since it comes after “Girl of My Dreams.”  If you listen carefully to both songs, especially the verses, there really is some good meat to the songs, so don’t write them off.  But those choruses.  And I do say unfortunately because I actually do like both of those songs.

Not all the songs are about the summer Brandon gave his life to Jesus.  A perfect example is the songs I just mentioned – “Girl of My Dreams.”  It’s a love song about how he met and married his wife.  Brandon’s guitar is strong on this one the entire way through, and some of those lines definitely make me smile.  It’s a great song.

“Everything Must Go” is about simplifying life.  It really does make you stop and think about all the things we collect.  I also love the fact that the music on this one is extremely simple, mostly one guitar with eventually piano and drums when he hits the first chorus after the minute mark.

Then there’s “When I Was Young,” where Brandon sings about how fearless we are to do and try anything before we start worrying about how others view us.  Even more, he brings it home to our “grown up” faith in God.  It reminds me of Jesus talking about having the faith of a child.  This song has a bit of an unusual melody to it, but that just makes you listen to it more.  I love it.

Honestly, I’m hard pressed to find a song I don’t like here.  Yes, I really do like those two I mentioned earlier.  Brandon continues to take some risks musically that really pay off.  This disc is unlike anything you have in your collection, and that’s a good thing.  It’s fun to listen to with great lyrics to think about.

So if you haven’t discovered Brandon’s music yet, No Turning Back is a great place to start.  And Brandon’s established fan base will love his strongest release yet.

CD Length: 40:44

Tracks:

1. One Way to Heaven

2. Only Just Met You

3. No Turning Back (Featuring All Sons and Daughters)

4. S.O.S.

5. When I Was Young

6. All I Need

7. Girl of My Dreams

8. When You Look at Me

9. Everything Must Go

10. Behold Our God

11. Sing Brave

TV Recap: Castle 7-15 - Reckoning

Well, I’m one for two.  I publicly made some predictions on what we’d see in the conclusion of the two parter last night.  We didn’t see any more about Beckett wanting to or even thinking about starting a family.  However, my other prediction came true.

We pick up where we left off.  Beckett’s been kidnapped from the corner where she thought she was going to meet with Amy, Tyson’s “girlfriend.”  As soon as the rest of the group realizes that, they rush out there.  It just happens to be in a corner with no cameras.  Castle and Ryan go to visit Tyson and Esposito goes to visit Dr. Neiman, but neither of them will admit to anything.  Both are placed under surveillance.  Castle gets a phone call from Beckett begging for help.  They trace it to a pay phone, but find a recording there.

Castle, fed up with how the investigation is going on its own, goes to confront Tyson.  He throws him around a little and then pulls his gun, threatening Tyson.  But Tyson sticks to his story that he is the guy named Mike.  He almost had me believing it, I must admit, until we saw the look in his eyes at the end of the scene.  Then the police show up and Castle is arrested for assault.  Tyson even wants to press charges.

Book Review: Hearse and Buggy by Laura Bradford (Amish Mysteries #1)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters and a well-crafted mystery

Cons: Pacing of mystery could be better; a handful of writing miscues.  Both are very minor issues.

The Bottom Line:

Complex characters

Draw you into this debut

Where pages will fly

Conflict and Murder

A few years ago, I was reading some Christian fiction in addition to my cozies, but as more and more of the focus in the Christian fiction market turned to Amish set stories, I stopped paying attention to what was being published.  As a result, I shunned Hearse and Buggy when it came out even though it was a mainstream cozy mystery.  Really, I wasn’t that interested in reading about the Amish.  But the praise I heard for the third in the series last year made me decide I had to give it a try.  All that praise was well earned and I now have a new series I must keep reading.

When Claire Weatherly’s marriage fell apart, she needed a safe place to get away, and her aunt’s invitation to visit the inn she runs in Heavenly, Pennsylvania, deep in the heart of Amish country, seemed perfect.  Claire quickly found a home there and has even opened up a shop that sells items that her new Amish friends make.

However, Claire’s new friends are threatened when the body of a man is found in the ally by her shop one day.  The victim is Walter Snow, the former owner of Claire’s shop, who left town after people realized he was cheating the Amish out of money.  Obviously, those he stole from would be logical suspects, and Claire knows several of them.  Complicating matters further, Jakob, the new detective in town, left this very Amish community to become a detective, and his home coming has not been pleasant since he is shunned by the community.  Can Claire help the investigation along to find the killer?

Characters in the best series grow over time.  I can like them right off the bat, but sometimes, it is two or three books before I feel like I truly know them.  That wasn’t the case here at all.  Oh, there is definitely room for them to grow as people, but these are real people already.  I feel like I know them and my heart was breaking for them at several points in the book.  These are now friends I must visit again soon.

It is the strong characters that propel the plot forward early on in the book.  The author has a background in romance writing, and the romantic sub-plots are stronger than in some series I read.  There are also conflicts in addition to the murder, and they take over much of the early portion of the book so there isn’t as much advancement on the mystery as I would have liked, even though the body of the victim is found early on.

Now, normally, that last paragraph would be cause for me to take off a star, and I thought about it.  But in the end, I just couldn’t.  Even though the murder takes a back seat at times near the beginning, there is so much compelling conflict that I was constantly turning the pages and never wanted to put the book down.  As the mystery takes more of the center stage, it is extremely well plotted and the solution is logical with several well planted clues, yet it was surprising at the same time.

I did feel the author told us things instead of showing them to us, especially near the beginning as we were learning background on the main characters.  The story is told in the third person, and a few times the author gives us several lines of dialogue in a row and then throws in a “she” to help us remember who is saying what.  Unfortunately, there were two women in those scenes, so it doesn’t help as much as I would like.  Again, these are very, very minor issues that seemed to smooth out as the book progressed and are worth noting only in passing.

I read for pleasure, so I tend to stay away from books and series that don’t really interest me.  However, every so often it is good to reevaluate, especially when you start hearing praise for a certain series or author.  I’m glad I gave Laura Bradford and Hearse and Buggy a chance because I am now hooked on this series.  I will be making time to find out what happens next to these characters very soon.

If you get hooked like me, here are the rest of the Amish Mysteries in order.

Ornament Review: Mickey's Fire Brigade - Mickey's Movie Mousterpieces #3 - 2014 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Good pose from a fun Mickey Mouse short

Cons: Can’t stand up on its own

The Bottom Line:

Rush to put fire out

Great short and fun ornament

Hangs great on your tree

The Third Mickey’s Mousterpieces is One Hot Ornament

I know I have seen all of the Mickey Mouse shorts.  I bought the Walt Disney Treasures collections and have watched all of them.  However, that doesn’t mean I really remember them all, so I am taking the ornaments from Hallmark’s Mickey’s Movie Mousterpieces series and rewatching each year’s short.  I’m finding that a fun way to rediscover some great animation, and that certainly was the case with Mickey's Fire Brigade.

The featured short is from 1935 and features Mickey, Donald, and Goofy rushing to the scene of a four alarm fire.  As they attempt to go about fighting the fire, they run into problems from wild fire hoses and a fire that fights back – literally.  It closes the windows and chases after them.  And then they discover Clarabelle Cow up in the bathroom oblivious to the danger she is in.  The creativity and humor of the short is wonderful.

But I’m not here to review the short.  Instead, I’m here to review the ornament inspired by it.  It features Mickey holding a fire hose all ready to fight the fire.  He’s dressed in his traditional red shorts and yellow shoes with a red fire hat on his head.  There’s the number 1 on his hat (and he was the only character in the short to have a number on his hat).  He’s holding the brownish-green colored fire hose with both hands and he’s smiling.  Little does he know what is about to happen.

The smile doesn’t quite match the scene from the short, but the rest of it is spot on.  The colors are perfect, too.  I love this series because it gives me a chance to collect something that represents these usually overlooked shorts, and this really is a great short.  Yes, the DisNerd in me completely approves.

Looking at the ornament, you’d expect that Mickey could stand on his own two feet.  Sadly, that is not the case at all.  They are actually at such an angle that they don’t both touch at the same time.  Further complicating things is the hose which actually sticks down below his feet.  Instead of the three points of contact you would expect from a quick glance, you have only one, and it’s pushing Mickey forward.  Then again, considering the craziness of the short, maybe that is appropriate.

However, you can hang this ornament without worry because it is perfectly balanced.  The loop is actually at the front of Mickey’s hat just above the 1.  It doesn’t look like it would balance, but it truly looks great when hung.

On the bottom of one of Mickey’s feet, you’ll find the copyright information and the 3 in a Christmas tree series marker.  On the other one, you’ll find the name of the short and the year it first came out.  Even though I store my ornaments in their boxes (I’ve got to figure something else out since it takes up too much room), I still love that added DisNerd touch on each ornament in the series.

It’s a shame you can’t stand this ornament since it really could be displayed year round.  However, it is still plenty of fun and a great reminder of the entertaining short Mickey's Fire Brigade.

Check out the rest of the Mickey's Movie Mousterpieces series.

Original Price: $12.95

Book Review: Story Thieves by James Riley (Story Thieves #1)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fun story, characters, and humor around a great premise

Cons: The story within the story a little weak

The Bottom Line:

Jump into story

Literally with Owen

And Bethany here

Don’t Steal This Story.  Just Jump In!

I have loved to read for as long as I can remember.  (Shocking, right?)  And as a kid, I would dream of jumping into a book and meeting my favorite characters.  As soon as I heard the premise behind James Riley’s new series, I knew I wasn’t alone because the characters in Story Thieves get to do just that.

Real life is boring.  That’s what Owen has decided, and he much prefers to live in the world of his favorite books, at least in his day dreams.  And then he meets Bethany when he finds her crawling out of a book.  Wait, what?  Turns out she is half fictional and can jump into books.  She’s spent years looking for her father, who disappeared into a book, and works very hard to stay out of the stories so no one learns about her abilities.

But Owen has a plan.  He wants to trick Bethany into jumping them into the climax of the sixth Kiel Gnomenfoot book, just in time to alter the cliffhanger, meet Kiel himself, and become a hero to the series legion of fans the world over.  What could possibly go wrong?  Turns out plenty, and as things spiral out of control, will Owen and Bethany be able to return things to normal?

Now obviously the book we spend most of the time in is completely made up.  And yet, there are many references to the books I loved as a kid and even some of the newer ones I’ve come to love as an adult.  These mentions made the book geek in me smile.

Honestly, the fictional series that features in this book is the weakest part of this book.  However, that’s not the point of our story.  A couple of minor things with it just didn’t seem to quite work for me, but it’s a very minor thing that is only worth noting in passing.

This is a very fast paced story.  Owen and Bethany actually spend much of the book apart, and we follow them in mostly alternating chapters.  In classic fashion, each chapter ends in a cliffhanger, making it even harder to book the book down.  And, while I wasn’t a super big fan of that story within a story, I loved the main story with Owen and Bethany as the stars.  The way things came together for a climax was great as well.

Speaking of Owen and Bethany, I really liked them as main characters.  They grow in some great ways and were just fun to be around.  It helped that they were surrounded by a crazy assortment of characters.  And yes, this includes the characters from the Kiel Gnomefoot story.

Plus there’s the humor.  I was smiling from the very first page and often had to laugh at the situations the characters got themselves into or the conversations they had along the way.  There are great moments that readers will especially appreciate.  That fun just made it all the more enjoyable to read.

Even though most of the book takes place around a made up book series, I still have to admit that part of me is jealous of Owen and Bethany’s ability to meet their favorite characters.  There was definitely some wish fulfillment in my love of this book even as things just go from bad to worse for the characters.

So whether you are a kid or a former kid who used to fantasize about meeting your favorite characters, I highly recommend Story Thieves.  This is a fun series debut that will leave you anxious for the further story jumping adventures of Bethany and Owen.

You'll want to jump into the rest of the Story Thieves series in order.

This review is part of the President's Day edition of Marvelous Middle Grade Monday.

Valentine's Day Edition of the Weekly TV Recap

Happy Valentine's Day!  I guess you could say I'm featuring my love of TV on my blog today, right?

In all seriously, you will notice one show missing.  I said last week that I would give Fresh Off the Boat at least one more shot.  I couldn't do it.  I made it half way through the first episode Tuesday night and took it off the DVR.  Just not my sense of humor, I guess.

But here is what I watched and loved this week.

Castle – I knew who the big guest stars were for the episode, so I wasn’t that surprised by the set up.  But man, I could not look away from the screen.  It was a captivating hour, and I can’t wait to see how they recover from the cliffhanger.  And yes, I have a full recap here.

The Flash – I’d been hearing that time travel turned out to be one of Barry’s powers, so I suspected whose blood we’d find on the wall.  Still, an interesting twist, and one I can’t wait to see how they deal with.  I’d forgotten that Victor Garber was going to be on the show, and it was fun to see him.  But seriously, can we get beyond the cliché of the superhero having to cut dates short because of a crisis?  Thank you.

Agent Carter – I think I’m more interested in seeing the next episode where she has to try to talk her way out of the mess she’s in now.  Still, this was a good episode as Carter once again got to show the men who is boss.  I do love strong female characters (just look at the books I read).

Arrow – The drug induced scenes with Sara were okay and fairly predictable, as was Laurel’s story arc for the episode overall.  However, that final scene?  It almost had me crying as hard as Laurel and her dad were.

Melissa & Joey – With the cancelation announcement that came out this week (the show is ending this summer), I was also happy to learn that Ryder has a lesser part of the show since he’s been getting parts in movies.  Good for him.  It was fun to see Valerie Harper, aka Rhoda, on the show, too.

Baby Daddy – Somehow, I did not see that ending coming with both the guys being jerks.  Very funny stuff, however, and the scenes with the brothers playing video games were pretty good as well.

Suits – Seriously, can they cut back on the swearing?  It is really, really getting annoying.  And I thought that Harvey and Louis got along better than this near the beginning of the series.  I mean, Louis did ask Harvey to be the best man at his wedding not that long ago.  Still, I’m glad they appear to have worked through their issues and I hope for some conflict of a different kind for the last few episodes of the season.

Book Review: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (Flavia de Luce #1)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Interesting main character and setting

Cons: Pacing of story, especially in the beginning; Flavia acts her age at times

The Bottom Line:

Unusual sleuth

In story that fits her well

And a good debut

Sweet Mystery Debut for Flavia de Luce

I have been hearing raves about the Flavia de Luce series ever since the first book came out, yet I never had managed to read a book in the series.  So many books, so little time, right?  But all the talk from fans as the latest book hit the shelves made me look up the series on audio.  Sure enough, my library had it, so I checked out The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.  While I didn’t love it as much as I thought I might, I certainly did enjoy it.

Life for 11-year-old Flavia de Luce is fairly easy in 1950 England.  True, she doesn’t get along with her two older sisters, but she gives as good as she gets from them, usually thanks to her passion for chemistry.

Then one June day, their housekeeper finds a dead jacksnipe on their doorstep complete with an old stamp on his beak.  That first upsets her father, who goes into his study to be alone.  However, Flavia wakes up in the middle of the night and heads to the garden to find a stranger dying in the cucumber patch.  As these two events connected?  What might they mean?

I’m wondering if part of my reaction to the book was the universal praise I usually hear for the series.  Were my expectations too high?  Possibly.  Again, it’s not that I didn’t like it, but I didn’t think it was quite as charming as others have said.

Let’s start with Flavia.  She’s a typical 11-year-old, which meant at times I loved her and at times I was very irritated with her.  She is certainly smart, but she’s also a little arrogant.  While I really didn’t like her sisters much at all, the way she treated them at times was pretty mean, too.  In the end, I did enjoy her.  Most of the characters are entertaining as well, and felt real to me.

The plot is actually fairly solid.  The pacing could have been better, and it is Flavia’s first person asides that often slowed it down.  However, her reasons for getting involved in a murder and the way she gathers and pieces together the clues is very realistic.  The twists and turns along the way were good, and the climax was wonderful.

To expand on the first person narration, it at times provides some charm and at others tends to drag on.  This is especially true early on as Flavia tells us about her passion for chemistry.  Hopefully, that will be smoothed out in future books since we already know about it now.

The narration by Jayne Entwistle for the audio version was truly wonderful.  Her voice perfectly captures that of an 11-year-old girl and the highs and lows of the story.  At times, her enthusiasm seemed a bit over the top, but for the most part her reactions usually fit the mood of the story.  There was certainly no over acting that got in the way of the story on her part.

While I wasn’t as blown away as I thought I might be, I really did enjoy The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.  I will be adding Flavia’s further adventures to my audio book rotation in the months to come.

And if you need more, here are the Flavia de Luce mysteries in order.

February 13th's Book Beginnings and Friday 56

I'm breaking a bit with tradition for this week's Book Beginnings and Friday 56.  Normally, I use whatever book I am reading.  And I'm reading a book I'm really enjoying.  However, I just have to go with Story Thieves by James Riley, a book I finished on Tuesday, for the memes this week.

This is a middle grade fantasy novel about a girl, Bethany, who can jump into books, and the trouble she gets into when a boy, Owen, learns her secret.  It's perfect for book lovers because, while most of the book revolves around a made up series of novels, there are so many references to books I've read and loved I couldn't help but smile.

But that's actually not why I couldn't resist using this book this week.  You see, the quotes I'm going to pull as just so great I couldn't resist.

For example, here's how the book begins:

Owen wanted to scream at the horror before him.  But the sound wouldn't come and the nightmare only continued, forcing Owen to ask himself, deep down, one question:
"Can anyone tell me what three-fourths times two-thirds is?"
Mr. Barberry stood at the board at the front of Owen's classroom, his arms folded, waiting for a hand to raise.
No, not that question.  The real question was this: Was there anything in the world that could possibly be more boring than fractions?

Yep,  I was grinning when I read that, and I thought about sharing it on Friday.  But the deal clincher was when I ran across this gem from page 56:

"Hello?" Dr. Verity shouted, glowing with the light of his force fields and from the large green ray gun in his hand.  "Sebastian?  I rang the bell upstairs, but you must not have heard me, so I destroyed most of your tower instead."

Want to know more?  Pick up the book or come back on Sunday for my full review.

TV Show Review: Boy Meet World - Season 1

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Lots of laughs and love as the show beings

Cons: Continuity errors to come (but they are still minor even then)

The Bottom Line:

Growing up sitcom

That is still funny, charming

Great family fun

“Confused, Mr. Matthews?”  “Yes.”  “As It Should Be.”

I didn’t start watching Boy Meets World until season 5.  I enjoyed it, but I never went back to watch the earlier episodes I had missed, and I wasn’t going to buy the DVD’s.  No, really, I wasn’t.  All that changed when I started watching Girl Meets World (which, if you haven’t started watching, you must do immediately).  I gave in after Thanksgiving and bought the DVD’s, so I’ve finally gone back to watch season 1 of Boy Meets World.  I’m glad I did because I really enjoyed it.

The Boy of the title is Cory Matthews (Ben Savage).  He’s in sixth grade and lives next door to his teacher, Mr. Feeny (William Daniels).  His life is surrounded by family and friends, including his parents Alan and Amy (William Russ and Betsy Randle), older brother Eric (Will Friedle), and younger sister Morgan (Lily Nicksay).  At school, there’s his best friend Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong) and the geeky know it all jerk Stuart Minkus (Lee Norris).  And, while not a regular cast member yet, there’s also the strange New Age girl who often sits in front of Cory, Topanga Lawrence (Danielle Fishel).

If that reads like the set up for many a sitcom, that’s because it is the set up for many a sitcom.  But that’s because this set up works.  And, as I am fond of saying, it’s not the set up or even the outcome that makes or breaks something, it’s how much fun you have along the way.  Over the course of this season, Cory finds out that it can be costly to earn money, he cheats on an intelligence test, takes on teaching his class for a week, and hides Shawn from Shawn’s parents over some petty vandalism.  Also on tap this season, the class puts on a production of Hamlet; Minkus, Topanga, Cory, and Shawn have to be a family for a class project; and Eric and Cory try to get out of a father/son baseball game.  Oh, and there’s the episode where Eric and Cory think that Amy might be cheating on Alan.

And that last episode might just be my favorite in the season.  The laughs are strong and hilarious.  Frankly, that’s the case with most of the episodes here.  I found myself laughing multiple times in all of them, yet they often come together for some well-earned tender moments as well.  Furthermore, the adults are much more intelligent than the kids give them credit for being.  This may be the first season, but most of the characters are already fairly strong.

Now, let’s be honest.  This is a show aimed at families from the 1990’s (these episode ran from 1993-1994).  This will appeal most to those with fond memories of the show or people like me who still enjoy humor aimed at a broad audience.  Even when I started watching its final few seasons in its original run, I was older than the target audience, but that didn’t stop me then, and I’m not letting it stop me now.  My only criteria for liking a show is if I laugh and enjoy myself, and that certainly happens here.

I had heard that the characters did really change as the series went along, and I certainly noticed plenty of things that didn’t fit with the characters I knew from the later seasons.  Cory is pretty sane and normal here (although he can still overreact to things), and it is Topanga who is out there.  She’s a stereotypical new age character, but they do draw plenty of laughs from her.  Eric is another character who changed a lot. He’s fairly girl crazy here (okay, that didn’t necessarily change), but again he’s much smarter and saner than he would be later.  And I’m curious how Shawn’s life changes as the series goes along because his family isn’t presented much like it turned out to be later on.  Heck, even Mr. Feeny doesn’t seem to care for the characters quite as much as he does in later seasons, although that is obviously changing by the final episode.

But all that is worth noting mainly in passing.  Why?  Because the show is fun and funny.  I think I might have mentioned that already, right?

The actors have jumped right in and made their characters come to life.  They inhabit these characters perfectly and make us laugh in every episode.

The first season consisted of 22 episodes, and they are all presented here in full screen and stereo, which is how they originally aired.  The extras consist of three audio commentaries features creator Michael Jacobs and stars Ben Savage, Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel, and Will Friedle.  These commentaries are equal parts funny and informative as they reminisce about their time on the show, tell a few behind the scenes stories, and lovingly mock continuity errors and the styles they are wearing.  (It was 1993, after all.)  You can tell everyone loved working together and are having fun hanging out again.  Heck, Matthew Lawrence, whose character didn’t show up until the era where I started watching the show, pops by for a commentary.  Finally, there’s a bonus episode from season 4, “Hair Today, Goon Tomorrow,” with another optional commentary featuring the entire gang (including Matthew Lawrence).

Season 1 of Boy Meets World is a funny family sitcom the entire family can watch together.  And since that’s exactly what it set out to be, I’d say it succeeds perfectly.  If you’re looking to relax and laugh, this set is definitely for you.

Season 1 Episodes:

1. Pilot

2. On the Fence

3. Father Knows Less

4. Cory’s Alternative Friends

5. Killer Bees

6. Boys II Mensa

7. Grandma Was a Rolling Stone

8. Teacher’s Bet

9. Class Pre-Union

10. Santa’s Little Helper

11. The Father/Son Game

12. Once in Love with Amy

13. She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not

14. The B-Team of Life

15. Model Family

16. Risky Business

17. The Fugitive

18. It’s a Wonderful Night

19. Kid Gloves

20. The Play’s the Thing

21. Boy Meets Girl

22. I Dream of Feeny